tormented 1 of 2

adjective

as in tortured

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tormented

2 of 2

verb

past tense of torment
as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to he was tormented by nightmares about the accident

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tormented
Verb
In southern India, Diwali celebrates Lord Krishna's victory over the demon Naraka, who is said to have imprisoned women and tormented his subjects. — Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026 In southern India, Diwali celebrates Lord Krishna’s victory over the demon Naraka, who is said to have imprisoned women and tormented his subjects. — ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026 Inoue did an initial pass of the sound effect for the beam that allows Ghidorah to throw whole houses up in the air high enough for our favorite eternally tormented, former Kamikaze pilot Kôichi Skikishima (Ryûnosuke Kamiki) to fly past them. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2026 But his wartime service comes at an emotional price as Stewart becomes tormented by the loss of many of the men under his command and must tackle the duty of writing condolence letters to their families. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2026 The foul odors from the 639-acre Chiquita Canyon Landfill have tormented residents for years, leading to tens of thousands of complaints. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026 The other was a decent man constantly being tormented by God in order to test his faith. — Chuck Lorre, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026 The Eagles, of course, have tormented the league with that play. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026 The series follows a group of Los Angeles teenagers in the 1980s who are being tormented by a serial killer known as the Trawler. — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tormented
  1. tortured
  2. plagued
  3. frustrated
  4. persecuted
  5. harassed
  6. afflicted
  7. harried
  8. besieged
Adjective
  • Florida has had a tortured relationship with this Biden-era money, originally intended to bolster states’ public charging networks for electric cars.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Our tortured contemporary education is a logical outgrowth of its origin story.
    — Kamau Bobb October 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • Leo's packed three-day itinerary in Uruguay includes a visit to a neighborhood plagued by gang violence, a Mass in Paysandú, around 230 miles from the capital, and another Mass in the city of Florida, about 60 miles from Montevideo.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The Cybertruck was plagued from the get-go – from promises of its release in the late 2010s to its eventual rollout in 2023.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of plagued
Adjective
  • Plenty of others, namely frustrated fans, are pondering the other stuff for him.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Middlewood, who is based in Kansas, does not expect frustrated rural voters to shift to the Democratic Party, given how long the state has been a Republican stronghold.
    — Sarah Raza, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • The Paxton campaign decried the reporting, without denying it, while saying he had been politically persecuted.
    — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Another mentioned Uganda, or any country that persecuted gays.
    — Ben Ryder Howe, Air Mail, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of persecuted
Adjective
  • Others were placed under house arrest, harassed or subject to extensive surveillance, or had their passports confiscated, according to prior NPR reporting and the findings of the United Nations and rights groups.
    — Emily Feng, NPR, 17 May 2026
  • For years, Christian clergy who live and work in Jerusalem have reported being frequently spat on, harassed and even physically attacked by Israeli extremists.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026
Definition of harassed
Verb
  • The margin was so wide that issues that afflicted Republicans’ electoral chances elsewhere in the country, including high gas prices and the Iran war, didn’t substantially harm Tuberville.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Calle 13 became famous not just for its edgy rap and urban music, but also for loudly calling out the economic and social inequalities that afflicted Puerto Rico.
    — Helena Alonso Paisley, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of afflicted
Adjective
  • There are also concerns about harried parents of a newborn forgetting a dose and the fact that cases of vitamin K deficiency bleeding have been reported even when drops are used.
    — Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The hotel has an age minimum of 16, making this a great retreat for harried parents.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of harried
Verb
  • And they would be besieged with lobbying as the private sector tried to realign itself.
    — Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Mehra – director of 2016 pic Baar Baar Dekho and creator of Prime Video series Big Girls Don’t Cry – says that while Indian audiences are besieged by films and TV content right now, where Hunkkaar has cut through is in its subject matter.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of besieged

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Cite this Entry

“Tormented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tormented. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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